A Scottish Affair
by KatKoenig
Summary: "Freya, I told you this obsession with muggle sports was dangerous." "Shut up, Oliver"


_Disclaimer - Anything you recognise isn't mine. All rights go to JK Rowling & Warner Brothers. _

_Don't hate on the shitty formatting, please? Anyhoo, here you go. Chapter One of A Scottish Affair. _

**_A Scottish Affair - Chapter One._**

Well this was boring, very very very boring.

"Uber boring...and it smells like toads" Freya muttered.

"What?" Jenny asked absently.

"Huh, nothing."

"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?" Professor McGonagall said, popping her head round the door of the Charms classroom. The class looked up eagerly hoping for a distraction from the increasingly dull silencing charm revision.

"Of course, on you go Wood." Flitwick squeaked.

Freya glanced behind her at Oliver, raising a questioning eyebrow. He just shrugged and followed Professor McGonagall out of the class. An overall sigh of boredom was heard throughout the room.

"I haven't been this bored since you forced me to go to a Celestina Warbeck concert." Freya sighed again.

"I didn't force you to go, you volunteered." Jenny whispered back.

"You said there was free food! And there wasn't!" Freya moaned.

Jenny humphed in reply and carried on trying to silence her toad who looked up at her dolefully as it let out a croak.

"Ouch!" Freya hissed, looking round to see what had collided painfully with the back of her head, catching her friend Luca's eye as she did so. Determining Luca had been the one to throw the ball of parchment Freya glared at her before turning round again. Feeling another parchment ball hit her head she whipped round and narrowed her eyes at her red-headed friend.

"What?" She hissed.

Luca just gestured with her head to who she was sitting next to. Freya's eyes widened dramatically.

"Hey, Jenny. Luca's managed to snag herself a seat next to Johann Wyss."

"So?"

"So? Are you crazy? He's the guy she's fancied the pants off of for donkeys."

Jenny glanced down at her toad once more before giving it up as a lost cause and turning her attention to Freya.

"I thought she liked Cedric Diggory?" She said, looking back at Luca who was grinning like an idiot and partaking in what looked like some serious flirting.

"No, that was last week." Freya corrected, also inspecting Luca.

"Miss McCleod, Miss DeRose, eyes on your toads please." Professor Flitwick scolded, just as Freya's toad was attempting to make a break for freedom. Freya quickly grabbed it, watching as its eyes bulged due to her tight grip. Just at that moment Oliver re-entered the classroom, apologized to Professor Flitwick and took his seat directly behind Freya again.

"Hey, McCleod. You'll never guess what."

"What?" Freya asked, tilting her head so she could hear, while still keeping an eye on the suicidal toad.

"We've just got ourselves a new seeker."

"Who?" Freya enquired curiously. They hadn't even held try-outs yet.

"Harry Potter. McGonagall saw him catch something after a fifty foot dive, says even Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."

"No way. Better than Charlie - the kid's got to be crazy good."

"Miss McCleod, five points from Gryffindor. This is the third time I've had to ask you to remain focused."

"Sorry, Sir." Freya muttered and spent the next twenty minutes of the lesson stopping her toad, Blue, as she had so appropriately named him, from jumping to his death.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"I swear Freya, it's like Christmas come early. Only better." They were leaving the charms classroom on the way to dinner and Oliver was singing the virtues of McGonagall for finding him a new seeker. Jenny and Luca giggled as they walked by, no doubt gossiping about Johann Wyss.

"We don't even have to hold try-outs. We've already got the twins, me, you and Johnson. I've already asked Bell to join as a new chaser and now Potter as-well."

"You're right. If Potter's as good as McGonagall claims, we've got it in the bag this year."

"This is my year, Freya! Speaking of which, were you not disappointed you didn't get Captain? You've been on the team longer than me..."

"Nah, you've got more...emm...drive...leadership qualities and all that." Freya replied, trying to ignore the creepy looks Slytherin fifth year Morton Pearce was giving her.

"Hey McCleod, looking hot!" He shouted over.

"Bugger off, Pearce." Freya said angrily, too tired to bother coming up with a decent reply.

"Still feisty I see."

"You heard the lady, Pearce. Bugger off if you know what's good for you." Oliver hissed, suddenly cutting in. They stared at each other for a few moments before Pearce sloped off in defeat, Flint and Pucey following behind.

Morton Pearce had been bothering Freya since the very start of first year. As first he had just called her names and laughed at her but towards the end of her third year his hate had turned into a creepy crush – borderline stalking. Freya wasn't sure which was worse.

As they entered the Great Hall Freya waved goodbye to Wood who went to sit by the other boys and moved to make her way over to Luca and Jenny. Sat in the middle of the Gryffindor table she saw Harry Potter and stopped to congratulate him.

"Well done," said Freya in a low voice, "Oliver just told me. I'm on the team too – chaser. Oh! Freya McCleod by the way. Totally forgot to introduce myself. Anyway, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year." She continued. "You must be good Potter! Oliver nearly began singing when he told me in Charms!"

"Thanks." Harry said nervously.

"Oh, don't be nervous! You'll be great! Wood said McGonagall reckons you're better than Charlie!" Freya said reassuringly. "Anyway I've got to go. Luca's got a new boyfriend she wants to tell me all about. See ya!" Freya called as she dashed up to the top of the table to meet Luca and the other fifth year girls. Already she could see the wild gossiping that was going on between Luca and their other dorm-mates Tilly Podmore and Eve Rignall. Freya chuckled quietly to herself as she saw Jenny giving them a disapproving look. She did that a lot when with Luca and the girls.

There were five fifth year girls in Gryffindor. All of whom Freya very luckily got on with. Jenny and Luca were, however, her best friends. Jenny in particular, Freya was very close to. Last Summer she had spent a great deal of time at Jenny's (it had been a very busy time at the Ministry for her parents) and in-fact thought of Jenny's family as a second one to her. Jenny's father – a Muggleborn – had a great love of Muggle sports and had instilled this love in Freya. In particular she had grown very fond of football and had attended a fair number of games with Jenny's father. In fact she had grown so fond of Ben she now referred to him as 'Uncle Ben' a development which Jenny had grumbled about for a few days. The fact of the matter was that Jenny was an only child and as much as Ben loved her he was disappointed in her lack of interest in that which absorbed him so thoroughly. So when Freya entered the house he jumped at the chance to share his ideas on Muggle versus Wizarding sports, even calling Freya 'The son I never had'. Freya chose not to be offended. Chuckling quietly to herself again Freya squeezed in between Tilly and Luca.

"What's so funny?" Eve asked absently.

"Hmm? Nothing, just thinking."

"What? Thinking! No way, didn't think you had it in you McCleod!" Luca said, mock dramatically.

"Shut up Lucabelle." Jenny said over her book.

Luca groaned. "Don't call me that! Merlin to this day I don't know what possessed my mother to give me such a moronic name! Why didn't Dad stop her? I mean, seriously..."

Freya drowned out the rest of Luca's rant in favour of helping herself to a generous slice of steak and kidney pie.

"So, Freya was looking very cosy with Wood on the way here, don't you think?" Eve asked interrupting Luca's now very violent verbal abuse of her mother. Freya blamed the Italian blood.

Freya just swallowed a large piece of pie and proceeded to glare at her friends as they all murmured their agreement. Choosing not to dignify that with a reply she just helped herself to some more mashed potato.

"Aww come on, we're just teasing." Tilly said, nudging Freya in the side.

"I know and I'm just trying to eat." Eve looked on in disgust as mashed potato sprayed out from Freya's mouth.

"Dinner's over." Luca trilled as she took Freya's plate and dumped it with the others.

"Hey! I wasn't finished!" Freya protested as Tilly dragged her by the arm out of the Great Hall.

"Now you are. Come on. I bet you have homework to do that was due two days ago."

Freya just sighed as they made their way up to the Common room. Sometimes she hated her friends.

xxxxxxxxxx

Perhaps it was because she was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all her O.W.L homework, but Freya could hardly believe it when she realised that she'd been at Hogwarts two months. Her lessons, too, were becoming more and more demanding now they were into their O.W.L year with the teachers threatening them with failure at every turn. Many evenings were spent in the common room bemoaning the amount of homework McGonagall had given them and why couldn't she be a bit kinder to her own Gryffindors?

On Hallowe'en morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Oliver had cancelled Quidditch practice after being told of by McGonagall for yet again not handing in a piece of homework so it was in good spirits when Freya plopped herself down at the Gryffindor table with the rest of her year that morning.

"Morning all, is it not just the finest morning you've ever seen?"

"What's got you so chirpy?" Flynn Winther, also a fifth year Gryffindor, grumbled.

"Oh nothing, Flynny dear. I'm just happy to be alive."

"Wood cancelled Quidditch." Jenny interrupted, not looking up from her book.

"Hold it there! Did I just hear someone say Wood cancelled Quidditch? Is he ill?" Tilly suddenly appeared beside her and immediately started filling her plate with bacon and eggs.

"Nah, McGonagall took a rager at him for not handing in his essay, again."

All conversation was cut off as the owls flooded into the Great Hall delivering the post, as usual. Freya however was surprised to see her family's barn owl, Diana, flying towards her. She hardly ever got mail from home, her parents being far too busy at the ministry and her sister, Mairi, too wrapped up in her new fiancé, Tristan. Still pondering this question Freya hardly had any time to duck before Diana threw herself straight into Tilly's breakfast, spraying bits of egg and bacon everywhere. Laughter was heard from all four house tables as Diana got up and shook herself off.

"Sorry, Til. She's not very good at the whole long distance thing." Freya apologised to her friend who was picking bits of her breakfast out her hair. Tilly merely glared and continued grooming herself.

Meanwhile Diana was happily drinking out of Eve's goblet with the letter still attached to her leg. Freya tried to grab the letter but Diana moved out the way and nipped at her hand.

"Ouch! You stupid bird, give me the bloody letter already, will you?"

After a good five minutes of begging, bribing and chasing the owl, the fifth year Gryffindors finally succeeded in prising the letter from Diana's reluctant hold, who then promptly took flight and began her journey back to Glasgow.

"I hate your bird, Freya." Jenny muttered, cleaning off her book. Freya, who was currently brushing cereal off the letter, ignored her. Breaking the seal she opened it.

_Freya, _

_I'm sorry I haven't written in a while but Tristan and I have been so busy, what with having just completed our Healer training and then of course planning the wedding. We've set the date by the way, 16th of March. It's during school time so you're going to have to miss some school. You don't mind do you? Anyway, Tristan's really looking forward to seeing you again. He says he can't wait to have a Quidditch-off. Honestly, what are you two like? Actually, I've a bone to pick with you. He went out and bought some kind of weird muggle ball the other day, called it a legball, a football. Please, Freya, stop planting ideas in his head. The Quidditch obsession is bad enough without you getting him involved in your love of strange muggle sports. Moving on, how's our little brother, you are looking out for him aren't you? I do worry about him. James isn't as outgoing as you or me. Anyway, this was just to let you know the wedding date and see how you're doing. Keep safe and look out for James!_

_Love, your favourite and best sibling,_

_Mairi Anna McCleod (soon to be Pierson!)_

_xxx_

Well, that was nice, sort of. She did spend most of the letter nagging Freya but it's the thought that counts, isn't it? She glanced over at the Hufflepuff table where James was laughing with his third year friends. He looked happy enough. To be honest Freya, didn't know what Mairi was talking about, James was completely fine. He did alright in classes and had a fairly large group of friends. But then again, Mairi always had been rather paranoid. Bonkers that one.

"Freya, come on! We're going to be late for Potions!" Startled out of her thoughts by Luca's voice, she stuffed the letter in her robes' pocket and dashed out the hall with the rest of the fifth year Gryffindors.

"Wait, has anyone seen Wood this morning?"

_Review, please? Pretty please with a cherry on top? heh..._

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